Cicely, Alaska
Cicely is a small town in the Burough of Arrowhead County situated several hundred miles from the city of . It had a population varying between 600 and 800 during the early-to-mid 1990s. History The exact date of Cicely, Alaksa's founding is disputed. According to Alaskan land baron and Mercury 7 astronaut, Maurice Minnifield, Cicely, Alaska, was founded by Cicely and Roslyn in or around 1893.Pilot (1-1) However, this date is contradicted by Cicely's oldest surviving resident, Ned Svenbourg, who says the town's founders didn't arrive at the pre-existing unnamed settlement until 1908."Cicely" (3-23) The earliest history of the town is not known, though it is held in low esteem by Svenbourg, who is on record as claiming the frontier settlement was a den of infamy and depravity so low it did not have a name. According to Svenborg's recollection, a lesbian couple named Roslyn and Cicely arrived at the pre-Cicilian settlement in the Alaskan Riviera's first automobile on a quest to improve the infirmed Cicely's health and to found a thriving, bohemian artist's commune on the frontier away from society's conservative eyes. The couple founded a Parisian-style salon, began education and artisan programs, and gave opportunities to the alcoholic and unemployed youth and indentured sex workers. The area thrived to the extent that it was known as "The Paris of the North" and offered artistic residency to famed bohemian author . Following the murder of Cicely at the hands of one of Mace Mowbry's gunmen, the town was named after Cicely. Roslyn's ultimate fate is unknown, though it is rumoured she died fighting the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. Other popular foundation myths include that Cicely and Roslyn were just "good friends", that the couple's car broke down and they became stranded, and that the pair stopped to purchase a new pair of socks."Buss Stop (6-20) Cicely, Alaska's growth over the next few generations was apparently small, given that it had a population around 830 people by 1990. After former astronaut Maurice Minnifield invested significant money and infrastructure in the town and region from his arrival in or around 1970, Cicely developed into a small but growing economy, and by the mid-1990s was home to a modestly successful tourist industry, a small film festival, artist residencies, itinerant culinary celebrations, several Native American arts practices, and a burgeoning media industry. Geography Cicely's is located several hours by bus from Anchorage, two to three hours drive from Sleetmute, 300 miles as the crow flies from Ninilchik, and around 400 miles drive from Soldotna."Animals R Us" (3-4) Cicely's main water supply is a tributary of the Elkhorn, and the tiny village of Nipnuk is located within running distance."Lovers and Madmen" (5-24) Cicely is located in the Borough of Arrowhead, which is occasionally referred to as Arrowhead County by ironic locals, aware that Alaska, of course, does not have counties. Cicely, like much of Alaska, experiences extremes of seasonal variation of daylight. The unique weather in the region sees the town experience up to 23 days a year with 90 minutes or less of direct sunlight. "Una Volta in L'Inverno" (5-17) The town experiences periods of no total darkness in summer and no total daylight in winter."Midnight Sun" (4-2) The town also experiences unusual weather, which has social and cultural significance, and is home to several unique geographical, meteorological, and biological phenomena--the eastern winds known as 'the chohos' in the onset of winter are known to produce hyperarousal, aggression, and unexpected sexual couplings."Ill Wind" (4-16) The melting of the ice sheets are known to create enormous sexual frustration, temporary insanity, and kleptomania in Caucasians,"Spring Break" (2-5), while a unique form of non-specified illness known variously as Glacier Dropsy, Tundra Fever, or Yukon Ague, which causes high fever, hallucinations, groin pains, nasal tenderness, and an aversion to seafood strikes most long-term residents of the region sooner or later, which finally lifts after the patient experiences a vision of a glacier or ice sheet, and is occasionally fatal."Three Doctors" (5-1) The Aurora Borealis, or "Northern Lights", affects electronics (and at least once caused the residents of Cicely to have one another's dreams) and is a growing tourist destination for the Japanese practice of ritual impregnation during the northern lights shows."Mite Makes Right" (5-12) Demographics While the exact demographic breakdown of Cicely is not known, the town has a high Native American population, a similarly high Caucasian-American population, an itinerant population of African-Americans, a small number of Asian-Americans, and one Jewish-American. The businesses of highest visibility in Cicely--the media outlets, general store, bar and grill, airlines, bed and breakfast, medical practice--along with most public offices, including mayor, town clerk, electoral commissioner, and chair of the election committee, are held, filled, or owned by Caucasian-Americans. Similarly, the exact gender balance is unknown, though there is a greater balance along gender lines than racial lines in the distribution of public office positions: town clerk, chair of the election committee, the office of mayor, half the available pilots, and head of volunteer fire brigade, are or have been, women. Cicely appears to have an aging population. The graduating class of the high school each year is a handful of students,"A River Doesn't Run Through It" (5-5) which has lead to at least one attempt to encourage large, young families to move to the region."Ursa Minor" (6-21) Economy Cicely and he surrounding region has a disproportionate distribution of wealth in comparison to other rural areas of Alaska. The state's richest man, former marine and industrial entrepreneur Maurice J, Minnifield, has a net worth of $17 million,"Full Upright Position" (6-7) while area resident Lester Haynes is the fifth richest man in Alaska. Minnifield is the town's largest landowner, with a local property of 15,000 acres, while his neighbour and one-time mayor Edna Hancock holds 12,000 acres."Democracy in America" (3-15) Despite this high concentration of wealth, Ruth-Anne's store is the only one within a 100mi radius "Fish Story" (5-18), and the town's doctor, Joel Fleischman, claims to be the only licensed medical practitioner within 500 square miles."The Gift of the Maggie" (5-19), though Fleischman is probably best considered an unreliable source due to his frequent and extensive use of hyperbole. Arts Cicely's resident disc jockey, Chris Stevens, is perhaps the Borough of Arrowhead's only kinetic sculptor, and his shows and displays draw sizable crowds. Local man Ira Wingfeather is one of the last wooden flute makers in the world, and his craft draws considerable interest from across the United States."Things Become Extinct" (3-13) Cicely is home to Ed Chigliak, a young Native American filmmaker and curator of the Cicely Film Festival. Many folk art practices of the are practised in the area, though they are rarely for commercial gain. The town was at one point home to a fugitive violinist who slept in a bear cave and played concertos for residents at night. Sport and recreation The region is a boon for hunters, fishers and wildlife photographers, with bears and moose being commonly seen animals, and many species of both North American, Artic, and Siberian birdlife present in the migratory seasons. Cicely is home to an amateur basketball team, the Quarks, who have never beaten the rival Sleetmute team in their ongoing annual contest. The local, tiny high school fields a highly successful fly-fishing team, the Cicely Marmots. Government and politics Cicely's mayor from around 1967 to 1991 was Holling Vincoeur who had the dubious distinction of losing his first contested election when he was defeated by Edna Hancock 255 votes to 247 in the 1991 mayoral race that garnered a huge 87% voter turnout. The election was contested by Hancock due to incumbent mayor Vincoeur's failure to provide extra stop signs to reduce logging truck noise. After Hancock's decision to not contest the following election, airline tycoon and real estate investor Maggie O'Connell became mayor. Media The two media outlets of Cicely, Alaska are both owned by local entrepreneur, Maurice Minnifield, the Cicely News and World Telegram newspaper and KBHR 57AM radio station. cicely news ruth-anne.jpg ne4-1 KBHR.jpg Transport Cicley is served by road and bus services from Anchorage, and by airport services with two airplanes, one run by local businesswoman Maggie O'Connell and the other by Charles 'Red' Murphy. ne4-11 Brad leaving on bus.jpg ne3-20 airstrip.jpg References Category:Northern Exposure